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The Urban Edit

The Middle House Hotel

The Middle House Lobby

It honestly feels like we’ve waited an age for The Middle House. After all, the team behind the project has already set the bar for design hotels in Beijing, Chengdu and Hong Kong with their ‘House Collective’ properties, so it really was about time they showed Shanghai a little bit of love. So excited were we that, when an invitation arrived requesting Bespoke’s presence for a  pre-opening trial stay, we dashed the two blocks from our office to their new ‘house’ in what may have been an inappropriately hasty manner.

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Amanyangyun

Amanyangyun Villa
The entrance to Amanyangyun’s largest suite.

If you’ve ever been to an Aman resort before you’ll know very well that they are not given to doing things by halves, and the hotel group’s latest Shanghai resort – the Amanyangyun – is no exception. In fact, given that many of the buildings here were picked up and moved hundreds of kilometres from a village in Jiangxi Province, this has been widely touted as their most ambitious opening yet.

Amanyangyun Pool
That pool tho…

Slated for demolition in their original location due to the construction of a reservoir, these beautiful old mansions were painstakingly dismantled and then reassembled on the outskirts of Shanghai.

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Shanghai’s Best Modern Chinese Restaurants

We’re often asked to recommend the most authentic Chinese food Shanghai has to offer. But what does ‘authentic’ really mean? Sure, we love the classics: jostling for xiaolongbao at Jia Jia, or slurping the sesame noodles on shared tables at Wei Xiang Zhai… but Chinese cuisine is an art that has evolved over many hundreds of years and is still changing – arguably faster than ever.

That’s why we’re just as excited about the local chefs that have been quietly pushing the boundaries of what is considered traditional for a few months now, and creating delicious dishes in the process. Here are three of our faves:

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The Bespoke Interview: Paul French Tells Us What He Really Thinks

Official Midnight in Peking Walking Tour Beijing Bespoke Paul French Ok, let’s jump right in. Why should fans of your book go on the Official Midnight in Peking Walking Tour

The original aim of the Midnight in Peking Walking Tour was two-fold – to bring the book, which is a true story, to life by visiting the major locations featured – the Fox Tower, Kuei Chia Chang hutong, the Legation Quarter, the old Badlands etc – and to see parts of Beijing perhaps even longer term residents haven’t fully explored…

How have the sites you mention in Midnight in Peking held up over the past century?

Amazingly, Kuei Chia Hutong has survived almost intact and we can see the Werner courtyard. The Fox Tower, again amazingly, is the only corner tower on the old city wall to have survived and is magnificent up close. That Chuanban and Huoguo hutongs, the old Badlands and Heroin Alley, still survive and are actually being somewhat restored in the area around the old Methodist compound. The Legation Quarter is also still mostly intact though rather impenetrable – the Midnight in Peking Walking Tour is a great way to really examine this unique area of western architecture in the middle of a Chinese city.

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Five of the Best Beijing Restaurants, Bars & Shops For First Time Visitors

5 OF THE BEST SOUVENIR SHOPS 

1. PANJIAYUAN MARKET

The Chinese market of your dreams. Open air, noisy and chaotic, you can bargain till your heart’s content. From genuinely old propaganda posters and ‘antique’ buddhas, to beautiful Miao minority embroidery and hand-crafted shadow puppets. Panjiayuan Lu, Chaoyang district. Nearest Subway: Panjiayuan Station, Exit B (walk west along Panjiayuan Lu until you see the busy entrance to the market). Open Saturdays and Sundays before 3pm only.

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These Comments Will Give You Away As A Tourist…

Some advice isn’t worth heeding. What we’re about to tell you, however, very much is.

We love helping visitors to China (heck, it’s our whole job), but sometimes when we impart well-meaning words of wisdom to visiting acquaintances, we spot that look of skepticism flicker across their faces. We can almost hear the voice in their heads saying “thanks for the advice n’all, but I’ll be fine.”

So we’ve decided to make this list for the China pros (you!) to share with your visiting friends and family. You know, the people who love you so much they actually take your opinion less seriously than a complete stranger’s (annoying eh?).

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